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Age UK Horsham District: Strictly Vintage Tea Dance

Strictly Vintage Tea Dance raises just under £3,000 for local charity!

On Saturday 30th March the team of staff and volunteers at local charity working with older people, Age UK Horsham District, hung the bunting high and threw open the doors of The Drill Hall to entertain 144 guests at their ‘Strictly Vintage’ 1940’s and 1950’s themed Tea Dance.

There was a fabulous turnout of guests of all ages dressed magnificently in vintage style outfits and the afternoon was spent dancing to music from the eras provided by the ‘Royal British Legion Dance Band’.

The Charity’s Chief Executive Officer, Sonia Mangan said: 'Our Strictly Vintage Dances get more and more popular every time, with this our eighth event! We are so pleased that our Tea Dances continue to be popular, this one in particular as it was Mother’s Day weekend and people were bringing their Mums for an afternoon out - this is definitely something that we’ll think about in future years! We hope that all our guests will return again on 5th October 2019 for live music and dancing, and to support our charity. In the meantime we have lots of exciting events and activities planned for the next few months, and I would encourage our local community to get in touch to find out more about our charity and to see for themselves how the money raised from such events is spent.' Sonia compered the afternoon and thanked the Horsham Business community, including local brewery ‘Dark Star’ who sponsored the event, and the Royal British Legion Dance Band for being integral to its success.

The event, organised by the Age UK Horsham District Fundraising Team, with many Age UK Horsham District staff and volunteers providing support, was a huge success and raised £2,876.32 for the local charity’s work with and for older people in the community. Other supporters include a host of local companies and individuals who supplied items for the raffle and helped to promote the event. All monies raised at this event go towards funding the free services the team at Age UK Horsham District offer across the district to support local older people, such as their Visiting and Information and Advice Services.

Loneliness is one of the key issues the charity tackles - over 1 million older people in the UK say they always or often feel lonely and loneliness is fast becoming a serious public health concern, with research suggesting it can be as bad for one’s health as smoking or being morbidly obese. With a rapidly ageing population, this means more pressure on already stretched NHS and social care services.

Age UK Horsham District is committed to reducing and preventing loneliness among older people locally and their Visiting Service is just one of the ways they do this. The service matches a volunteer to a lonely older person, who then makes regular visits to offer friendship, social interaction and support.

If you would like to find out more about how Age UK Horsham District could help you or someone you know, please contact them on 01403 260560, email info@ageukhorshamdistrict.org.uk or visit www.ageukhorshamdistrict.org.uk

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